No Need to ‘Hurry Hard’ - Crokicurl tournament Sharbot Lake

Kelli McRobert | Mar 09, 2022

I had to ask a few times what people were saying and then did some research as to what this sport was.

Off I went to Sharbot Lake and the “ball diamond, near the school” was my guide to the location. Sure enough, I saw a pleasant group of people keenly shoveling off an octagon of ice, and there was a flurry of activities as cars were pulling in and the finishing touches were being added rink-side, like benches, score boards, and pushing poles. Fortunately, the weather had improved to a comfortable -7 and there was little to no wind, so we could sit comfortably and watch between matches.

Crokicurl was invented in Winnipeg, two women Liz Wreford and Leanne Muir of Public City Architecture, combined the game of curling with the board game Crokinole. Essentially taking the best of both games and allowing players to enjoy a challenge throughout the winter season. Since being established, it has spread across the country and the first American rink has since been built in 2021, in Altoon, Wisconsin.

Crokicurl takes smaller ‘rocks’ that are considered junior in curling terms as they are 25lbs instead of 38-44lbs. You play in teams of two, and the rocks are 2 different colours (so you can differentiate team rocks) and I was on one of 8 teams vying for the Sharbot Lake Crokicurl Title.

You get a few practice ‘throws’ to test the speed of the ice and then the games start. As the day progressed the ice got much stickier, so we had to toss a bit harder to get across the line. The goal is to get your rock into the centre divot to score points. We had 8 players out in each round and your shot (throw) must cross the outer ring to count. No hurrying, no sweeping, and no bruised knees! I’m in! Points for these rounds were 5, 3, and 1 depending upon your proximity to the centre.

My first throw was grim, to say the least, it thudded against the guarding posts and slide back with an unforgiving swoosh. My heart sank as I looked around with tears running down my face, okay, the tears were from the wind that kept catching the corner of my eyes, but I was still disappointed with my effort, until someone yelled ‘MULLIGAN’. My hope was restored! We were allowed 1 mulligan and had to decide when and if we wanted to use it to re-take a bad throw. I opted to take mine IMMEDIATELY in the hopes of not letting down my teammates and at least managing to get it across the line first, and into the centre, second. ‘Swoosh’, out it went with a subtle glide and a little less spin, and it crossed the line and bumped gently into the blue stone nudging it just behind the post. The crowd yelled ‘great shot’ as I stood bewildered for a moment trying to clarify, what had been done.

You must touch the other coloured (if I am red, I must touch blue) rock, for your shot to count and to bump them out so your colour is closest to center. We left the scoring to the pros, who would come and go and remove rocks based on touch, no-touch, in, out etc….

We were fortunate to have some skilled players there and were thankful for those that skittered on and off the rink to move the rocks around throughout the game. Points are tallied with a plus or minus calculation and then teams moved on to the final playoffs.

The rink in Sharbot Lake was lovely, as you could pop inside the shack and have a warm drink, thanks to Anne, or a ‘by donation’ snack (group effort), and they even had inside plumbing which is such a treat when playing outside in the snowy weather! Thank you to Rhonda and Bob for coordinating such a great event, and those that I am unaware of who helped!

During this event, a new family was welcomed to the community, who hailed from Scotland and had recently re-located from Toronto formally becoming residents of Sharbot Lake. Local resident Karen grabbed the newcomer’s arm and introduced her warmly to everyone. The family took quickly to the sport and showed us all how it was done by popping the rock into the button twice on their first try! Jill became a ringer for much of the morning and led her team to victory in the first round. She had an infectious laugh as she slid her rock with agility and precision successfully hitting the button with casual ease. Their brogue accents were a pleasure as they told stories of their travels and how they decided to purchase one of the local homes nearby. Welcome to Jill, Tim, and Christopher to Central Frontenac!

Over the next few hours, teams rotated turns playing 4 times each, laughter filled the ball field as cars whizzed past on Hwy 38, a few onlookers would hesitate, a peaked curiosity as to what we were doing. I had to leave before the scores were all tallied, but I am sure the remaining rounds were laughter-filled and fun!

I hope the Townships can investigate getting more of these rinks installed throughout the area, as it is a fantastic game that is accessible for all ages, easy to play, and should be promoted accordingly.

What a great morning of fun, and I look forward to coming back next year for a few mini tournaments!